IDC FutureScape: Top 10 Predictions for the Future of Innovation

Delivering innovative digital products can help businesses satisfy customers and create stronger competitive differentiation. Organizations that can then take the next step and transform their software innovation into value engines will spawn additional business value, such as data monetization, new partnerships, or entrance into new markets. As business leaders consider ways to leverage software innovation and transform their businesses into digital innovation factories, International Data Corporation (IDC) offers its top 10 predictions for the Future of Digital Innovation.

Profitable digital innovation requires alignment across the organization, combined with a strategic selection and application of proprietary or community source tools. Most of all, digital innovation requires a clear understanding of what customers want, as well as the ability to anticipate what they will need – even before they do.

"One notable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is that many enterprises now recognize that their ability to build innovative digital products and services will determine whether they succeed or fail in the market," said Nancy Gohring, research director, Future of Digital Innovation at IDC. "The imperative to develop innovative digital offerings is influencing an array of strategic decision making in the enterprise, including significant changes to business models, organizational models, distribution models, and revenue streams."

IDC's top 10 predictions for the Future of Digital Innovation address topics related to shifting business requirements and enabling more efficient software development:

• Prediction 1: By 2026, enterprises that successfully generate digital innovation will derive over 25% of revenue from digital products, services, and/or experiences.
• Prediction 2: By 2022, organizations that allocate 50+% of their software development projects to customer-facing initiatives will see revenue grow 15% faster compared to those that focus more on internal projects.
• Prediction 3: To help alleviate the developer skills shortage, 55% of organizations will use cloud marketplaces and tech startup acquisitions as their most important approaches to software sourcing by 2024.
• Prediction 4: By 2024, companies that have already invested in building a developer ecosystem will expand their customer base by 25%.
• Prediction 5: Securing the software supply chain will be a core competency embraced by 75% of large digital innovators by 2023.
• Prediction 6: By 2023, traditional distribution models crumble as 20% of businesses in some sectors use technology to go direct to customers, seeking to improve customer satisfaction and product development.
• Prediction 7: By 2026, 30% of software development teams will be focused on turning traditional products into outcomes as a service.
• Prediction 8: Half of the Global 500 will have insourced software development significantly by 2025, exacerbating the software engineering skills shortage and fueling interest in software development efficiencies.
• Prediction 9: By 2024, 55% of successful digitally innovative products will be built by teams that include people with creative, critical thinking, analysis, and automation skills, as well as software engineers.
• Prediction 10: By 2025, 75% of newly developed applications will include some automatically generated code, freeing up humans to focus on development tasks that are not easily automated.

These predictions are discussed in greater detail in a new IDC FutureScape report, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Digital Innovation 2022 Predictions (IDC #US47148621), which is available for download at: https://www.idc.com/events/futurescape?tab=latest-research.

The Future of Innovation predictions were also presented in a webinar hosted by Nancy Gohring and featuring IDC analysts Arnal Dayaratna, and Jennifer Thompson. Details and registration for an on-demand replay of the webinar can be found at: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1494483&tp_key=2de5c15d9a

Finally, IDC has published a blog which further explores the implications of this year's Future of Innovation predictions. The blog can be found at: https://blogs.idc.com/2021/10/27/idc-futurescape-worldwide-future-of-digital-innovation-2022-predictions/

About IDC FutureScape

IDC FutureScape reports are used to shape IT strategy and planning for the enterprise by providing a basic framework for evaluating IT initiatives in terms of their value to business strategy now and in the foreseeable future. IDC's FutureScapes are comprised of a set of decision imperatives designed to identify a range of pending issues that CIOs and senior technology professionals will confront within the typical 3-year business planning cycle.

To learn more about IDC FutureScape reports for 2022, please visit: https://www.idc.com/events/futurescape.

About IDC's Future of Digital Innovation Practice

IDC's Future of Digital Innovation research practice helps organizations build and execute the planning, sourcing, development, and distribution strategies necessary to become high-performance software producers. Operating as "digital innovation factories," enterprises will embed software in their products and services to create greater value for their customers and better compete in their own industries. To learn more about IDC's Future of Digital Innovation research practices, please visit: https://www.idc.com/promo/future-of-x/digital-innovation.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

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IDC's top 10 predictions for the Future of Digital Innovation identify ways that software innovation will transform businesses into digital innovation factories.